Robert MacIntyre: Scot seals maiden PGA Tour title

Robert MacIntyre, take a bow!

The 27-year-old Scot is a PGA Tour winner.

MacIntyre held off playing partner Ben Griffin to win the RBC Canadian Open by one shot, securing his maiden title on the US-based circuit in his rookie season in the States.

With this win, MacIntyre has:

– Climbed to 39th on the Official World Golf Ranking
– Secured his playing privileges on the PGA Tour for two more years beyond this season
– Guaranteed his place in this year’s US Open and Open
– Punched his ticket for next year’s Masters and PGA Championship
– Pocketed a tidy $1.69million.

He also becomes the first Scot to win on the PGA Tour since Martin Laird won the most recent of his four titles, the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, in 2020.

“I’m speechless to be honest, this is just everything for me and my family, my team, my girlfriend,” said a tearful MacIntyre. “I’m crying with joy but I’m laughing because I didn’t think it was possible.”

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Making MacIntyre’s win all the more special was the fact he had his dad, Dougie, on his bag.

Dougie took time off from his job as a greenkeeper at Glencruitten Golf Club in Oban – where he taught his son to play – to be on the bag this week.

“I don’t think I’m looking for a caddie,” laughed MacIntyre. “I think Glencruitten’s looking for a greenkeeper.”

He added: “It’s incredible. It’s a dream of mine to play golf for a living. It’s been a dream of mine to win on the PGA Tour and I just can’t believe I’ve done it with my dad on the bag.

“The guy’s taught me the way I play golf. I never make it easy, and he said that, when I was 16 or 17, he was going, ‘You never make this easy.’ And that’s the way I play golf, I play it with the heart on the sleeve.

“We’ve got a hell of a fight in the two of us and I just can’t believe that I’ve won on the PGA Tour, to be honest.

“My mum and dad will be mortgage-free now, and life’s looking a little bit better on that side of things, but he just wants me to do well because I’m his son.

“Coming down the last there when I hit that 7-iron, I hit it as hard as I could and it was perfect. As soon as I hit it, I looked up, it was perfect, and I actually had a lot of confidence, because I knew that one was going to be close.

“I still had a job to do, but I just felt like the guy that’s properly taught me the game of golf I’m going to win a tournament with him on my bag and it’s so special.”

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor